The Power of Inanimate Objects
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: A few short tales involving Annie and Stuffed Animals, inspired by the events of 'Origins of Vampire Mythology'.
1. Chapter 1

"Pierce?" Annie lightly knocked on her bedroom door, trying to figure out what was going on with him. It was two in the morning and she really wanted to get to bed.

After Jeff had come over the five of them watched the rest of Blade, with Abed suggesting afterwards that they make it a triple feature and watch all three Blade movies. Jeff and Britta left just before they started the third movie. Troy decided to turn in twenty minutes after the third one started, leaving Annie and Abed to watch the rest of the movie by themselves. When it was finally over she shockingly discovered that Abed had fallen asleep (she could recall only one other time he had fallen asleep before a movie or TV show was over.) Now she just wanted to go to sleep herself. But first she had to get Pierce on his way.

"Pierce? I'm coming in, so please be decent." She turned the door knob and opened the door, seeing him sprawled on top of her comforter, snoring like he had inhaled a turned on vacuum. Annie groaned as she closed the door. She knew she probably should have expected this, but it didn't make it any easier to see.

Well now what, she thought. She didn't have the heart to wake Pierce up, but she now had to find a place to sleep. Her options were to either sleep in Troy's recliner, not wake Abed up and crash in his bed, or take a sleeping bag and camp out in the dreamatorium.

While there technically was a bed open she decided on sleeping in the dreamatorium, in case Abed woke up later and wanted his bed. She checked the closet but didn't find the sleeping bags there. She groaned as she remembered the guys had used them for something in the blanket fort. She quietly crept inside, hoping she could find them without disturbing Troy.

She froze as a light switched on, revealing Troy lying on the bottom bunk. "Annie?"

"Troy. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She whispered.

"What are you doing?"

"Pierce fell asleep on my bed, so I'm getting a sleeping bag so I can sleep in the dreamatorium."

Troy glanced upward, seeing that Abed's bunk was empty. "Where's Abed?"

"He fell asleep in his chair."

"Then just take his bed."

"But what if he wakes up and-."

"Annie, when Abed falls asleep he's dead to the world. He's not getting up. Just take it."

"Ok." She said as she slipped off her flats. She didn't even notice that Troy had gotten up until a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants were gently thrown at her. "Here you go. So you have something to sleep in."

"Thanks Troy." She went into the bathroom and changed into the sleep clothes. It was too late to do her complete bedtime ritual, so she settled for just washing her face and brushing her teeth. When she came back Troy was back in his bed, staring up at the underside of Abed's bed. "Good night Troy."

"Night Annie."

She hoisted herself up, struggling a little before she managed to pull herself onto the bed. She got under the covers and adjusted the pillows until she was comfortable. She wrapped her arms around a pillow and was about to close her eyes when something she had wondered about earlier passed through her head. It's late, she thought. It can wait until morning. Don't bring it up now. Don't-

"Troy. Are you awake?" She whispered.

"Yea." He groggily answered.

"Why did you erase that message from my phone?"

Although it was dark she could make out his confused face. "What?"

"Before with Britta when we were pretending to be Blade. After you texted her you erased the message from my phone so I wouldn't see it. Why?"

He paused for a few moments as she waited for an answer. "You know."

"No, why?"

"Annie, you're smart. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to upset you, ok." He said, much louder then he intended.

Annie climbed off the bed and switched on the bedside light before sitting on the edge of Troy's bed. "Why would that upset me?"

"Because." He said with exasperation. "Because I know how you used to feel about me. And I figured if I said something nice to Britta, it might upset you. Kind of like how she was with you when she found out you liked Vaughn." He finished in a low voice.

Annie was silent for a few moments as she thought that over. It had been so long that she didn't even register that Troy might think she still thought of him that way. She scooted closer until she was next to him. "Troy, listen. You are one of my closest friends. And I care about you deeply. But, as far as all that goes…" She stopped to think, hoping she chose her words carefully. "It's in the past. You're a great guy, and objectively cute. But I don't feel anymore…" She stopped to run her hands through her hair as he looked at her. "What I'm saying is, if you like someone you don't have to hide it from me. I'm honestly fine with it."

He looked at her as she glanced around at the designs on the sheet walls. While he wasn't exactly sure what 'objectively' meant, he seemed to figure out what she was saying. She liked him as a friend, but not romantically. He thought about it, and found he wasn't bothered by hearing that. Normally that wasn't something he liked hearing from girls. But it was actually kind of a relief to finally know exactly where they stood with each other.

"You're not just saying that Annie?"

She looked back over at him. "No. Whoever you like and want to date, I'm fine with it. As long as it's not my mother!" She shrieked.

"Don't worry, that won't happen." He laughed. They both inched over as he opened his arms and they fell into a hug. She closed her eyes as she leaned into him. It felt similar to what she had felt when they hugged on his twenty first birthday, only deeper and more comforting.

As they pulled back he looked at her seriously. "Do you ever wonder though? What would have happened if we had dated in high school?"

Annie absentmindedly ran her fingers over the bed sheets as she pondered his question. Truthfully she had given that some thought. And she had pretty much come to her own conclusion. "I've thought about it. And I think now that it would have been terrible. We were different people then, and ran in completely different circles. I mean, I only went to football games to watch you. I had no interest in it otherwise. I think if we dated in high school we would have made each other miserable. Also, you were a bit mean back then." She finished in a small voice.

She was afraid he might get mad or upset at her last statement. But instead Troy seemed to grow sad. "Maybe it would have been better if Britta had met me back then."

Even though Annie's heart broke at hearing that she kept her tears in check for Troy's sake. "Troy, listen to me. You are a good guy. And Britta…for some reason has trouble liking herself, and because of that turns to guys who treat her like crap."

"I know." He said flatly.

"But listen Troy. When Jeff came by he told her some things, basically that we can't keep hating ourselves and if we can stop doing that we won't be drawn to people who treat us badly. And I think it got through to her. She found out we had been texting her as Blade and was ready to run to him. But after Jeff talked to her she stayed here, even after everything she earlier did. I think she's starting to realize she wants to be with someone who treats her the way she wishes she could treat herself. Does that make any sense?"

"I think so."

"Just give her some time. But I think tonight was a big step for her."

Troy nodded his head as he loudly yawned. "Can we talk tomorrow? I'm falling asleep here."

"Sure. It's late. I'm tired too." She smiled as she got up from his bed. She frowned a little as she looked at Abed's bed. "I just wish I had one of my stuffed animals."

"Oh…yea." Troy guiltily reached under the sleeping bag beside his bed and pulled out a stuffed giraffe.

"Popsicle!" Annie reached over and took the plush toy into her arms. "Why is he in your room?"

"We…were kind of using him for a movie. He was a giant alien giraffe and we had army men trying to defend the lego city."

As she held the giraffe the frown on her face melted. "Normally I'd be mad, especiallysince I've _told_ you guys not to go in my room without permission. But I'll let it slide because I now have a stuffed animal to sleep with tonight."

"It's really that important?"

She fidgeted uncomfortably as she held the animal protectively against her chest. "When I was in rehab we were given stuffed animals to help us sleep at night. So we could have something to hold if we were scared and needed comfort. And since then, I've just slept better if I have one or two in bed with me."

She waited for Troy to laugh at her, but instead he had a look of sympathy and affection on his face after hearing her story. He nodded his head towards Popsicle. "Is that…was that the one you had..."

"Oh, no. I got Popsicle in high school." She was quiet for a moment before she said "It's Samantha, my blue seal. My councilor gave her to me my first night there."

"Do you want me to sneak in your room and get her?"

"You don't have to do that. I have Popsicle. And I only sleep with Samantha if I'm really upset about something. Otherwise she stays safe on my shelf."

Troy nodded his head before he unexpectedly hugged her. Annie hugged him back before she climbed back up onto Abed's bed. She got back under the covers as Troy turned off the light and got into his own bed.

"Night Annie."

"Good night Troy." Annie happily said as she hugged Popsicle and closed her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie pulled into the parking lot of Britta's apartment complex and got out of her car. She had only been to Britta's apartment a couple of times, and each time she was there she had to resist the urge to start cleaning and organizing the place.

As Annie rode the elevator up she tried to figure out what Britta wanted. When she called her that morning all Britta said was that she wanted her to come by. After last night Annie could think of a multitude of reasons Britta might want to see her. There was one reason in particular Annie was hoping for, but she didn't want to get her hopes up in case she was disappointed.

Annie knocked on the door a few times before it opened. "Hey Annie. Come in." Annie followed Britta inside as she grabbed a bowl and threw it into the already full sink. "I just wanted to thank you for last night. I might have been a bit…" She raised her eyebrows and waved her hands in front of her, as if that fully indicated how she had acted. "But you stuck by me and helped me. So, thank you."

"Of course Britta. That's what friends do. Help each other out, not take advantage of them."

"Right, advantage. That's kind of the real reason I asked you over here." She reached in her pocket and pulled out a purple pen, which she handed to Annie. "Before when I texting Blade I started doodling what to say to him with the pen on your dresser. And then afterwards I put it in my pocket and forgot about it until this morning. So…"

Annie frowned as she looked at the pen. "This is why you wanted to see me?"

"Well yea. You once turned Gestapo over a lost pen, so I wanted to give it back before you saw that it was gone."

The frown on Annie's face intensified as she put the pen in her purse. "Thanks."

"Are you ok Annie?"

"I'm fine." She said in a voice that clearly indicated she wasn't fine. "I'll see you on Monday Britta." She stormed across the room before stopping abruptly at the door and turning back around. "Really Britta! THIS is the reason you called me over?"

"I was being nice and giving you your pen back. I know I was a bit much last night but-."

"Last night you said I was like a sister to you Britta! A SISTER! Do you have any idea what that meant to me? How moved and touched I was to hear that? And then I found out it was all just a lie to manipulate me. I thought maybe that's why you wanted to see me, to apologize. But no, you just wanted to give me a pen back."

"Cause I know you like your pens." Britta said in a small voice. "Annie, I'm sorry for that. But, I mean, I was basically an addict last night. You know what that's like."

"Yes Britta, I know what being addicted to something can do to you. But I also know that that excuse only gets you so far. That having an addiction does not give you a get out of jail free card for everything that you do or say. Eventually you reach a point where you do something that goes beyond saying 'it's just because I have a addiction'. And honestly, what you did was one of those times."

Annie pulled open the door and started walking down the hallway. She made it to the elevator when Britta came running down the hallway. "Annie, wait." She grabbed Annie's hand and practically dragged her back to the apartment. "Annie, I'm sorry for manipulating you like that. But listen, what I said last night. Yea, I might have been trying to get my phone back to call Blade."

"Might have?"

"Ok, definitely was. But that doesn't mean I was lying about what I said. I actually do think of you like a little sister."

"Really?" Annie said suspiciously.

"Ya. You're annoying, pushy, you need my guidance on how life actually is."

Annie scoffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "How is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"Because that's how I'd expect a little sister to be around me. She wouldn't be a obedient simpleton. She'd be someone who sometimes annoys me, but who I still manage to care about." Annie tried to make sense of that as Britta grabbed her forearms. "Also, you might not realize it, but what I did last night just proves how much of a sister I think of you."

"OH COME ON!"

"I'm serious Annie. You're an only child; you never grew up with siblings. I grew up with two older brothers, and we were always manipulating and screwing each other over. Whenever we watched horror movies I'd cover my eyes during the scary parts and tell them to tell me when it was over. And they always told me too early so I'd see something terrible and get really scared. And one time Trey hit a tree and dented our dad's car, and the next day I was sent home from school for smoking and ended up rating him out to try and take some pressure off me."

"Britta, I don't get how this is supposed to make me believe you care about me."

"I'm saying Annie, that this is what siblings do. They screw with each other. But when things are really bad, they know they can turn to each other. When I backpacking across the country I got arrested in New Mexico. Long story, I was totally right, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Point is, I called Trey and he came and bailed me out. Despite all the crap we gave each other I still knew I could count on him. Yes, I may have manipulated you to get my phone. But I also knew I could turn to you when I needed someone, even if I got out of control. I may not have said it for the right reason, but I do think of you like a little sister."

Annie fidgeted, trying not to be moved by Britta's warped view on siblinghood. But her resolve only lasted a moment before she hugged her. "Thank you Britta. You drive me crazy. But I also think of you like a sister."

The two women held each other for several minutes before finally separating. As Annie wiped her eyes she noticed the stuffed animal on the couch. "Oh, what a cute bear."

Britta glanced behind her until she saw what Annie was talking about. "Oh, thanks. Jeff gave it to me."

"Jeff gave you a purple bear?" Annie said as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Yea. He said he won a bunch of stuffed animals at Blade's BB gun booth. He gave most of them to Shirley, but he got that one for me."

"Oh. Well, that's good. What are you naming him?"

"I don't know?" Britta said as she shrugged. "It's a stuffed animal. They don't really need names."

"Britta, you have to name him."

"How you even know it's automatically a him?"

"Ok, fine. How about Billy? That works both as a boys and a girls name."

Just then her phone rang. As she pulled it out of her purse her eyes widened when she saw it was Jeff. It was unusual for him to call her out of the blue on a weekend. It was even more unusual that he was actually calling her instead of just texting. "It's Jeff." She turned around as she answered the call. "Jeff?"

"_Hey Annie." _

"Why are you calling me?"

"_Not much for banter today are we. Are you busy tonight?" _

"Why do you want to know?"

"_Because I want you to do something with me tonight." _

Annie's widened at that one. Jeff was willing giving up a Saturday night to spend time with her. It seemed way too bizarre to be real. Then again, she didn't really have plans, so she might as well take advantage of this unusual occurrence. "Ok. What did you have in mind?"

"_It's a surprise." _


	3. Chapter 3

Annie knew she shouldn't feel this mesmerized. After all, it was just a traveling carnival. It wasn't like she was at Disney world. But she couldn't help it. Something about all the lights and the rides and the weird fragrance of various food smells made her smile. It reminded her of a movie she once saw where a bunch of friends were hanging out on a boardwalk at night. After she saw that she had always wanted to go to a boardwalk before she died. While this wasn't exactly the same, it was fairly close to how she imagined it might be.

She tried to keep her suspicions at bay as she walked beside Jeff. Yes, she knew he rarely did things without a reason behind it (he wasn't one for just doing things on a whim.) But she wanted to give him some benefit of the doubt, and believe that at least part of the reason they were here was because he wanted to hang out with her.

"So, which one is Blade anyway?"

He held out his arm to stop her as he pointed over to the duck shooting booth. "That's him over there."

"Hu. I thought he'd look like Vince Vaughn for some reason." She started walking over when Jeff grabbed hold of her wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I wanted to meet him."

"Annie, trust me. It's better if you just stay away from him. Do you really want to chance becoming like Britta?"

Annie frowned as she thought about that one. "I guess not." She bounced on her toes as she looked around. "So what do you want to do first? We can go on the ferries wheel. Or the cyclone."

"We'll get to that. But first I want to win you a prize."

"Is that why we're here? So you can win me something and impress me?"

"I'd like to think I can do better than that to impress you." He led her over to the games, steering her away from Blade's booth. They walked until they ended up at a ring toss booth. "Here we are. This looks promising."

"Step up here ladies and gents!" The Carney stand worker yelled (a woman with long pink hair and sleeve tattoos of colorful birds on both arms). "It's not that hard. Just toss a ring on the peg and win a prize. Anyone can do it." She pointed at Jeff and Annie. "You sir, step right up. Win a prize for your girlfriend there."

Annie's face flushed at being thought of as Jeff's girlfriend, but Jeff just laughed it off. "Sure, I think I can handle it." He smiled as he turned to Annie. "What would you like Sweetie?"

Annie's eyes widened, since she wasn't sure if Jeff was making fun of her or not. But he didn't seem like he was mocking her. So she simply smiled and leaned in close to Jeff. "I'd like that one, Honey." She said as she pointed to the large red dog.

"Ok folks, here's how it goes." The Carney explained. "For two bucks you get four rings, five you get ten. There's five rows of pegs there, with each row getting you a different level of prize. The farther back the row you hit, the better prize you get. Simple enough."

Jeff opened his wallet and took out five bucks. "Ten rings please." He took the rings and handed five of them to Annie. He narrowed his eyes at the furthest back row, which he would have to hit if he wanted to win that giant dog for Annie. He owed it to her to get her a stuffed animal.

After all, he already lost her one carnival prize.

"_Britta, you know it's just a movie right?" _

"_It just doesn't make any sense. If vampires can give birth, then why would they bother turning humans also?" _

_Jeff pushed open the lobby door, remembering at the last second to hold it open for Britta. He shook his head as they walked through the parking lot together. "I don't know. I'd suggest asking Abed tomorrow. I'm sure he'll have some theories." He stopped as he got to his lexes and unlocked it. "Ok, I'll see you on Monday." _

"_Jeff." He turned around as Britta looked at him seriously. "Thanks, for finding out that stuff about Blade. And for what you said to me before." _

"_No problem. Just try to remember that the next time you find yourself falling for a loser." He started to sit down before he pulled out a purple stuffed bear that was on the driver's seat. "What the…" _

"_What have you got there Jeff?" _

_Jeff didn't answer as he looked at the stuffed bear. After finding out about Blade's 'power' he found Shirley and claimed one of her prizes, choosing the purple bear. He had intended to give it to Annie when he came over, since she liked purple. But he forgot to take it up with him when he arrived._

_Jeff looked up as Britta looked at him apprehensively "Is that…did you get that for me?" _

"_Um…" _

_Before he could correct her she pulled the bear out of his hands. "You did didn't you? Thanks. I'm usually not one for stuffed animals, but after tonight I could make a exception." _

"_Yea, sure. It's yours. The result of several rounds of shooting cardboard ducks with BBs." Jeff said, not able to correct her now that she was holding the thing. _

"You ready Annie?"

"Ready Jeff."

Jeff concentrated as he flung the first ring, silently cursing when it bounced between the pegs. He threw the second one, but it also didn't connect. He did the same with the third, fourth, and finally the fifth one. But none of them flew onto a peg.

He was so busy trying to hit a peg that he didn't even notice Annie until she grabbed hold of his arm. "Jeff Jeff look! I got one!" Jeff looked up in surprise and saw that there was a ring on one of the pegs on the third level. His scowl quickly disappeared as he saw her face light up in accomplishment. "Good job Annie." He said as he hugged her.

"Good job miss." The Carney said. "Pick a prize from the middle row."

"I'll take the Black horse." Annie smiled as the Carney got it down and put it in her hands. "Jeff, look. Isn't it cute? I think I'll name him Sir. Reginald. Ok, let's go to the ferries wheel."

"Yea, just one sec." Jeff pulled out his wallet and slapped five bucks on the stand. "Ten more rings please." He took his rings and narrowed his eyes as he aimed his arm.

"Can I have some Jeff?"

Barely paying attention Jeff handed her a couple of rings. He concentrated as he tossed his rings, growing more frustrated when they didn't hit a single mark. Eight times he threw a ring, and eight times he missed hitting a peg. "Son of a-."

"I GOT IT! Jeff look, I hit one again." Jeff looked over and saw that Annie had hit a peg on the fourth row. "Yaa, good job Annie." He said, a bit less enthusiastically then he had when she won the first time. He waited while she picked out her prize (a green skinned witch in a black dress.) "I'm going to name her Elphaba."

"What?" Jeff said in frustration.

"That's the witch in the play Wicked. Elphaba. Come on, lets go on some rides."

"In a minute." Jeff said as he put another five on the booth."

"Jeff, you really don't have to-."

"Just one more time." He took nine rings (giving Annie only one this time) and threw all of them at the booth in quick succession. He let out a loud yell when not one hit a peg. As he looked over he saw a peg on the fifth row. For a second he thought he had actually gotten it. But then he groaned in anger when Annie started jumping up and down. He took a deep breath to try and calm down as Annie picked out another prize (the big red dog that had originally caught her eye).

"Jeff, here." She held out the dog for him. "I've already won two prizes. I want you to have this one."

Jeff's eyes widened as he looked at the stuffed dog. HE was supposed to have won a prize for Annie, not the other way around. He shook his head as pulled his wallet out and took out twenty bucks. "Annie, I said I was going to win you a prize and that's what I'm going to do."

The smile left her face as Jeff was given a large stack of rings. "Jeff, I really don't want to spend all my time at the game booths."

"Just give me one more minute."

"Ok, I'm going to go get something to eat. Do you want anything?" She waited but Jeff ignored her as he started throwing his rings. She rolled her eyes as she left her prizes with Jeff and set off on her own.

After going on the Tilt-A-Whirl and then eating a hot dog and some pop corn she went back to the booth. When she got there she saw Jeff still there, holding a large stack of rings. "You're still doing this?"

"Sir, you've already spent one hundred dollars. Maybe you should quit while you're ahead." The Carney said.

"You've spent one hundred dollars on this game!" Annie said.

"I'm getting better."

"Jeff, this is insane. Please stop."

"I said I'd win you a prize."

"I already have two prizes. Three if you count the one I gave you. I'm good."

"I'm not stopping until I get you something."

"Jeff! JEFF!" She stepped in front of him, stamping her foot on the ground. "If this is your idea of a good date then I'm telling you it's not working!"

She wasn't sure what exactly made her say it (maybe it had to do with the carnival worker thinking they were together), but her face reddened as soon as the words left her mouth. Furthermore they seemed to temporarily break Jeff's obsession with winning the game. His ring arm dropped as he looked at her in shock. "What?"

"I, I um…" she stuttered for a few moments before finally finding her voice again. "Jeff, I know you want to win me something. But it's fine. You don't have to keep spending all your money to get me something."

He looked into her pleading eyes before shaking his head. "I can't. I can't go until I've won at least once."

Annie started to groan before she stopped and stood next to Jeff. "Spread your legs out a little more."

"What?"

"Spread your legs out a little more. That might help. When you throw you're throwing it too hard. Tossing the rings lightly works better. Also try aiming for the stripe on the top of the peg. If you aim for something on the peg instead of the whole peg itself you have a better chance of hitting it.

Jeff smiled as he looked over at Annie and readjusted his legs. "Thanks."

"No problem." She watched as he started throwing his remaining rings. She watched as they sailed in the air before one finally landed on the fourth row. "JEFF, YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!" She jumped up and hugged him, hanging onto his neck as her legs dangled above the ground.

He hugged her right back before gently lowering her to the ground. "Yup. And it only took me a trillion tries to do it."

"Jeff, at least you finally got it. Focus on the good."

Jeff smiled as he gestured towards the prize wall. "Your choice, take your pick."

"Jeff, after all that you really should-."

"Annie, I said I'd win you a prize and I did. So choose something."

"Ok." She carefully looked before deciding on a large penguin. "But you're naming him." She said as the stuffed animal was handed to her.

"Fine." He thought about it as he looked at the toy bird. "How about Milton."

"Milton?"

"When I was growing up my next door neighbor had a bird named Milton. It was a Parrot, but they're both birds."

"Milton the penguin. I like it." She smiled as she gathered Sir. Reginald and Elphaba and Jeff took hold of the big red dog. "Well now that that's over, can we go on the Ferris wheel?"

"Sure." Jeff smiled as he held out his arm. "Milady."

"Milord." She said as she took his arm. As they started walking she thought about asking him why he had been so obsessed with winning that game. But instead she decided to just let it go. It was probably just his competitive nature coming out. Nothing more, nothing less.


End file.
